In explosive video messages released by the BBC, Princess Latifa, the daughter of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has alleged that she is being kept hostage by her father in a heavily-guarded villa converted into a jail. She has accused her father of holding her hostage in Dubai since she tried to flee the city in 2018. In the videos, which appear to have been recorded covertly, the 35-year-old princess says she is worried about her safety and her life.
“I don’t really know if I’m going to survive this situation,” she says in one of the videos. ”I’m a hostage. This villa has been converted into jail. I can’t even go outside to get any fresh air,” she further says.
However, Sheikh Mohammed has denied the allegations against him and his aides have insisted Princess Latifa is living at home with her family. Meanwhile, The United Nations has said that it will raise the detention of the Dubai’s ruler daughter Princess Latifa with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Who is Princess Latifa?
Princess Latifa, or Latifa bint Mohammed al-Makhtoum, is the daughter of Dubai’s billionaire ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and one of his 25 children. Latifa’s mother, Her Royal Highness Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, married al-Maktoum in 2004 and is his second ‘official wife’. Sheikh Mohammed is also the current Prime Minister and Vice President of the country.
Born in 1984, Latifa and her brother, Sheikh Majid spent their early childhood with their paternal aunt. Educated at the Dubai English Speaking School, International School Choueifat and Latifa School for Girls, the princess is said to be an excellent and experienced skydiver.
Why did she run away?
The Dubai princess said she wanted to run away due to her family background. In a video, she accused her father of mistreating her and her sister Shamsa along with other serious charges, including murder.
The princess had previously also tried to escape from the family residence in Dubai in 2002 when she was 16, but her attempts failed. Her next attempt at escape was in 2018 when she and her Finnish friend Tiina Jauhiainen left Dubai in a car and crossed into Oman. However, she was captured at the border, jailed for three years, beaten and tortured, as alleged by her.
According to CNN, she was last seen publicly in March 2018 aboard a yacht off the coast of India before a raid by Indian and Emirati forces took her back to Dubai.